Where in Tahrir al-Vasyleh (Tahrirolvasyleh) can the primary text be found and what is the precise Persian wording for disputed sexual jurisprudence quotes?
Executive summary
A consistent pattern in the reporting is that the controversial sexual‑jurisprudence passages are attributed to Tahrir al‑Wasilah (Tahrirolvasyleh) by Ayatollah Khomeini in Volume 4, cited as “Problem 12” in many secondary sources and websites (for example p. 221/229/241 depending on the citation) rather than being located in a single, universally agreed page image of the primary text [1] [2] [3]. Close scrutiny of available references shows frequent repetition of the same claims across derivative sites, while at least one Wikipedian who checked photographed pages reported being unable to find the exact sensational wording and provided a Persian fragment as the nearest verifiable excerpt [4].
1. Where in Tahrir al‑Wasilah do reporters point, and what the mainstream citations say
Multiple online reproductions and summaries point readers to Volume 4 of Tahrir al‑Wasilah and identify the passage as “Problem 12” (often with page citations such as 221, 229 or 241 in different reproductions) and these versions are widely reprinted on sites that quote the controversial formulations about minors and bestiality attributed to Khomeini [1] [2] [3]. The Wikipedia article confirms the book’s identity and Persian title Tahrirolvasyleh and describes its structure as a juristic commentary that circulated in several editions, which helps explain why page and paragraph numbering vary between printings and online copies [5] [6]. Secondary aggregators and blogs use those volume/page markers as the primary locator for the disputed material rather than supplying a scanned primary‑source image that unequivocally reproduces the exact quoted sentences [1] [7].
2. The closest verifiable Persian wording available in the reporting and its provenance
A Persian‑speaking Wikipedian who examined photographed pages and compared versions posted online offered a translation and a Persian fragment representing the closest match to the contested text: the fragment relates to “Kitab‑e Nikah, Mas’alah 12” and was rendered in transliterated Persian and translated as indicating that sexual intercourse with a spouse under nine years is not permitted, while other sexual acts were discussed in the surrounding passage [4]. That Wikipedian explicitly wrote that they could not locate “the exact statements” floating on the web and provided their Persian transcription and translation as the nearest authentic excerpt they found in the photographed pages [4]. This makes that Persian fragment the most directly cited primary‑language material in the collected reporting, but it is presented as an interpreter’s reading of photographed pages rather than an unambiguous, independently archived scan reproduced in the sources here [4].
3. Why sources diverge and what can and cannot be affirmed from the available material
The reporting shows two recurrent, connected issues: first, many sites repeat dramatic English paraphrases (e.g., “a man can have sexual pleasure from a baby,” or permissive language about sodomy and animals) that cite Volume 4, Problem 12 but do not link to a photographed primary page to verify exact wording [1] [2] [3] [7]. Second, a careful examiner on Wikipedia found discrepancies between the viral English claims and the photographed Persian/Arabic pages she checked and therefore warned that the most sensational phrasings are not located verbatim on the images she examined, supplying instead a more restrained Persian excerpt and translation as the closest match [4]. From the assembled sources it is therefore supportable to state that the contested material is widely attributed to Tahrir al‑Wasilah, Volume 4, Problem 12 (multiple secondary citations) and that a Persian fragment from “Kitab‑e Nikah, Mas’alah 12” has been posted by a native speaker who compared photographed pages — but it is not possible, on the basis of the provided sources alone, to produce an incontrovertible line‑by‑line primary‑source scan reproducing the sensational English quotes verbatim [1] [2] [4] [3].